2 Convicted In Arkansas Adoption Fraud Ordered To Pay $1.2M

A former co-owner and a former employee of a closed Little Rock adoption agency have been ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution and penalties to former clients and the state of Arkansas.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says a Pulaski County judge on Tuesday ordered the payments by former Adoption Advantage owner Donna Gail Hight and ex-employee Jacklyn Potter.

They were convicted in April of deceptive trade practices after prosecutors said prospective adoptive parents paid thousands of dollars in upfront fees for adoptions that never took place.

Hight says her ex-husband - Ed Webb - was the owner of the agency and that she only worked for him. Webb was found in default in the case. His whereabouts are unknown. Potter argued that she was duped by Webb.